Ex-Congressman Won’t Attempt Comeback Bid in Pennsylvania | #PA12

Critz will not try to come back to Congress. (Bill Clark/Roll Call File Photo)

Former Rep. Mark Critz, D-Pa., will not attempt a congressional comeback bid in 2014, opting to seek statewide office instead.

He told a local union radio show that he plans to run for lieutenant governor, the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat reported. “It’s 100 percent; I just haven’t made it official yet,” Critz told “The Union Edge” on Wednesday.

Last fall, Critz lost a close race to Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Pa., in the southwestern part of the state. He topped Keystone State Democrats’ list of candidates to take on Rothfus again in 2014.

A former congressional staffer, Critz came to Congress in 2010 when he won the special election for the seat held by his late boss, Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa. He won two more highly competitive races in the next couple of years, including defeating another Democrat in a member-vs.-member race.